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The Philosophy of Good and Evil
The problem of good and evil is one which has puzzled humanity from its earliest days. While it is not the essential problem with which man is to be concerned, it is certainly worthy of some careful consideration. Good and Evil as Karmic Polarities That which is good is held to be that which is beneficial to human life, and that which is evil to be that which is antagonistic to this interest. Good vs. Evil is not Morality Morality = 'principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behaviour. Etymologically speaking, the term "morality" stems directly from the term "moral", which interestingly took another meaning to the French: '''Moral ''= '''the confidence, enthusiasm and discipline of a person or group at a particular time. This word was to be respelled as "morale" and its pronunciation modified in order to draw distinction between its meaning and the previous one. However the root remains the same. So, by accepted definition, it can be said: '''A person's morality describes his confidence, enthusiasm and discipline at a particular time. This is seen as distinct from the morality of a particular action, which is said to be: The effect an action will have upon a person's level of confidence, enthusiasm and discipline. From the above, I conclude that the more essential meaning of the term morality is the meaning applied to an individual, since the use of the term as pertains to any given action must take individual morality into account. The Degree of a Person's Morality = '''his present level of confidence, enthusiasm and discipline If an action elevates an individual's morality, therefore, it will be considered to be "good" and "right". If it diminishes morality it will be considered "evil" and "wrong". However, these judgements of good and evil are context-specific and also specific to subjective individuals, not present within the essence of things. It is therefore my conclusion that: '''That which brings about morality in an individual transcends human estimations of "good" and "evil" It can therefore be said that pursuing what one considers to be "good" will not bring about in oneself a higher level of moral conduct any more than opposing what one considers to be "evil" will. In their paths through life, every single individual has committed to actions and attitudes which others have considered to be good and also to those others have considered to be evil. In addition, no one sets out in order to bring about what they consider to be evil to themselves - even the most self-destructive actions are intended to bring about a positive result within the consciousness of the individual. The saint freely gives aid to the needy out of kindness because he feels it is good to do so. The mass killer mercilessly terminates life because he fully believes that others are a threat to his own security. In both these examples, the individual seeks to bring about the best result he possibly can after weighing his options through whatever mental resources are currently available to him, and taking into account his unique past experiences. Both the saint and the mass killer are pursuing in the moment what they consider to be the "good" as opposed by the "evil", but the mass killer's morality (confidence, enthusiasm and discipline) can definitely be said to be much lower than the saint's. He is, therefore, an immoral man by comparison. It must be repeated: Pursuing that which one judges to be the "greatest good" does not lead to morality. Morality is Contact with Truth The Final Balance Morality and Immorality are Not Essential Like all within creation, morality and immorality are conditions, not essences - analogous to healthy and unhealthy states, where health here means a state of appropriate adjustment and its opposite means a state of absent adjustment, by degree of such absence. Karma will reconcile itself over time - those who choose repeatedly to reject personal growth and its stresses while others in the world embrace it must eventually come to undergo a period of more rapid, concentrated and therefore stressful growth in order to "catch up" with the rest of creation. This stress will manifest the perception of good and evil in the consciousness of such an individual due to their misalignment with the rest of conditioned reality. They will likely feel overwhelmed and endangered under such stresses, but these very sensations will drive them to correct themselves and engage in the growth that they need to restore morality. All Paths are Equal Although those who choose to take small and regular steps in personal growth will be tempted to believe that their pathway is the better one when compared to the road which leads one into immorality, this is in fact not the case. Neither pathway is greater or lesser when weighed in the final balance, and all individual human consciousnesses undergo an equal share of adversity on their journey. To stray into a condition of alignment with so-called "evil" is no stain upon the self or others, permanent or otherwise - it is merely another pathway to ascension in the eyes of deity. The perspective of eternity descended into the world, but this transcendent state is replaced in most human beings by judgements of good and evil, which are subjectively placed upon conditions of reality, from the first embodiment. From here it is each individual human's task to unlock the potentials from within themselves and ascend back to deity. This struggle of light and darkness will ensue as man's conceptions of good and evil are gradually reconciled through experience. Once reconciliation of good and evil is achieved, his higher purpose is revealed to him. Each fragment of deity is self-contained in its own development. It experiences vibration, space-time, reason, intellect, soul, desire, thought, perception and embodiment within itself. It is at the mercy of no outside influence, only those it puts upon itself. It is also self-responsible and beholden to no other individual in terms of active ethical obligation. As it proceeds towards its own self-awakening, others will come to follow its example in mind, heart and body. This transference of value does not require anything but the individual fragment's maintenance of its own psychic state. Human moral alignment with reality is perfect before circumstances and responses to them cause decline. Karmic reactions set in motion upon first embodiment in ancient times (original sin) caused many among humanity to enter progressive cycles of reincarnation into the circumstances they fostered in their previous lives until these circumstances were reconciled, and this process continues in the present. For this karmic reason, most individuals see their alignment start to deteriorate early (and sometimes very early) during childhood, and perhaps further during adolescence and adulthood. In accordance with the principle of emanation, there are seven degrees of the fall, each containing within it echoes of the creative trinity within deity. These seven degrees are brackets indicating an individual's present alignment with Truth. The additional layer which should be added to this scheme to enhance understanding is that the Selfless, Illuminated, Enlightened and Personal alignments correspond to one's movements within the Kabbalistic worlds of Atziluth (Emanation), Briah (Creation), Yetzirah (Formation) and Assiah (Action), respectively. The Evil, Vengeful and Soulless alignments are placed upon an inverse, dark reflection in the worlds of Yetzirah, Briah and Atziluth. They are the Tree of Death, a consequence of man's entanglement in matter and his loss of true contact with spirit. Selfless "Ascended" Alignment - '''the individual comes to the realisation of universal selflessness. '''Solar "Illuminated" Alignment - '''the individual seeks a personal dedication towards others. '''Good "Enlightened" Alignment - '''the individual cultivates that judged to be "good", assimilates the "evil". '''Neutral "Personal" Alignment - '''the individual seeks survival and self-interest. '''Evil "Neurotic" Alignment - '''the individual opposes that judged to be "evil", overlooks the "good". '''Vengeful "Sociopathic" Alignment - '''the individual seeks a personal vindication against others. '''Soulless "Psychopathic" Alignment - '''the individual comes to perceive universal soullessness. '''Murderers Destined for Sainthood If growth is refused and pressure builds within consciousness as the rest of humanity advances and the individual becomes a straggler of sorts, they will temporarily fall into an evil alignment of varying severity until a great effort on their behalf becomes necessary for them to struggle out of their "impossible" situation. This is the route of severity wherein the individual must fight fiercely against dismal odds, however eventually and inevitably coming to triumph through growth to enjoy the fruits of their labour, which will be all the sweeter for their efforts. The greater one's descent into what one considers evil, the greater one's future ascent into what one will then consider good. Once the final recognition of good and evil's reconciliation has been achieved, alignment rises to the original selfless state of deity and cannot fall down again to a lower state. Love of that which is right overcomes personal prejudices of all kinds, and all that was seemingly done incorrectly, all that was once seen as being corrupt and immoral in self and other, even truly wicked deeds, are now seen truly as the process of gaining insight. Personal "evil" comes to be revealed as a "good" thing in retrospect with the realisation that no essential harm was ever done. Those we injured, killed or acted cruelly towards are revealed to be those we in fact taught their own karmic lessons to, and those who did the same to us are revealed to be those who taught us our own invaluable lessons. A Trick of the Light Everyone is the hero of their own story, and therefore can be said to be questing after an ideal state. No-one thinks that they die or suffer for a truly negative reason - their discomfort is either estimated by themselves as an unfortunate accident, or as a valiant demise the name of a cause they believe to be just, somehow greater than themselves. In this sense, then, the worst imaginable fate - death or a prolonged period of great duress - is experienced to be transcended, or is at worst a tangential occurrence which in no way tars the essential idealism of the individual or his sense of true self-worthiness. If everyone is moving towards this ideal, which is clearly seen as the goal of sorts, it will inevitably be reached. At this point all questions will be answered, all needs will have their fulfilment and nothing about the happenings of the past, present or future will remain a mystery. All is, until this point of ideal or archetypal fulfilment, therefore a process of everything getting better degree by degree, even the apparent lowest of beings making its way towards the truth. This is why good is stronger than evil and why it will ultimately triumph both personally and universally - when reality is fully achieved within deity, evil will be revealed to have had no substance or existence from the start, and all that once was felt to be hated will be revealed in truth to have been that which unlocked Man's greatest strength and majesty. It was not that the "good" was the real, it was rather that the "good" pointed like a finger directed towards the Sun, indicating the orientation through which man's greater truth would be revealed.